Can closure



May 27 1924. 1,495.149

R. D. BALL CAN CLOSURE Filed June 8, 1923 annuals Patented May 27, 1924.

. RUFUS D. BALL, F SEATTLE, WASHINGTON.

CAN CLOSUBE.

Application led June 8,

To all lwhom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RUFUs D. BALL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Seattle, King County,`S tate of Washington,

and Whose post-oflice address is 818 Alaska Building, beattle, Washington, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Can Closures; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,

and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to bottle or jar closures, and more particularly to closures for bottles, ars, cans and the like in which liquids, such as ink, are vended to the trade,

equipped with a closure provided with a puncturable element, to permit egress of the li uid as desired.

ore specifically, the invention comprehends a closure adapted to be secured in osition on a bottle, jar or can which is lilled with ink or a like commodity, the closure being apertured at its top and containing a sealing disk of soft metal, Such as lead, to prevent undesired egress of the ink through said aperture, but adapted to be readily punctured to permit a iow of ink to an inking pad, or for other uses.

The invention furthermore embodies a disk or pad of absorbent, fibrous material, positioned between said aperture in the closure and said sealing disk, which absorbent disk is also perforated, but not ruptured, in the act of puncturing the soft metal disk, and, in the act of applying the ink to the ink pad, the central'portion of the absorbent disk is adapted for use, in lieu of a brush, in the application of the ink to the pad.

The object of the invention is the production of a simple and commercially practi- Sfzable form of a closure as above briey set orth.

Other objects vof the invention will be apparent from the following specification, when read in connection with the drawings forming a part thereof.

In said drawings:

Fig. l is a side elevation partly in section, of a can equipped with my closure;

F ig. 2 is a side view of the interior screwcap?, fitting over the top of the can;

igi 3 is a vertical section through the cap s own in Fig. 2,;

192s. serial m. $44.128.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the ab sorbent fibrous pad or disk;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the soft metal sealing disk; A

Fig. 6 is a sectional View of the closure cap, after perforation of the sealing disk, an

Fig. 7 is a sectional view showing` the cover cap applied to the closure cap shown iin l? ig. 6, after perforation of the sealing t Now referring speciiicall to the drawlngs, A represents a ycontainer for ink or similar liquids, provided with a neck having screw-threads adapted for cooperation with threads upon a closure cap B, the atter cap being also provided with threads for the reception of cooperatin threads on a cover cap C, all as shown ingFi 1.

The top 1, of the closure cap is centrally apertured at b, and absorbent disk or pad 2, composed of any .suitable material, such as felt, cellulose or the like,` is adhesively or frictionally secured to the bottom surface of the top 1, and covers the aperture b. To the bottom surface of the pad 2 is adhesively secured a thin lead disk 3.

The cover cap C is, in practically all respects, the counter part of the cap B, being provided with the absorbent pad C and the lead disk 3', but the top of said cap C is not perforated.

It will be understood that the container or can A is filled with ink at the factory 90 and the closure cap B, containing the pa 2 and disk 3, permanently applied in position by solder or otherwise, and the imperforate cover cap C positioned upon the closure cap B. When the user desires to 05 appl ink to a stam pad he removes the cap C and passes a sultable instrument, such as indicated at 4, Fig. 6, through the perforation in the top of the cap B, thereby forcing aside the fibers or strands of the 100 pad 2, and puncturing the disk 3. As the instrument 4 is removed it will tend to dra-w upwardly the ragged edges 5, surrounding the aperture made in the disk 3. In the withdrawal of the instrument 4, certain of 105 the fibers orI strands of the pad 2 will be partially drawn out of the aperture in the top 1 of the cap B, forming a protruding dauber, tuft or mat 6.

After tha instrument 4: has been passed llo through the pad 2, and unctured the disk 3, the can is inverted, aus the ink Will then pass through the disk 3 and a substantial quantity thereof will be taken up by the absorbent pad 2, which will manifest y in crease in proportions and tend to project itself out of the perforation in the cap B, there'b increasing the size of the mat 6, as willI be clearly understood. As soon the pad 2 has initially absorbed the requisite supply of ink, the can A, in inverted position, is placed upon the ink padfand moved back and forth thereon' vuntil the latter has received an adequate supply of lnk` through the mat 6. So long as the c-an is.

held 4inverted and the mat 6 applied to the ink pad, a quantity of ink will be deposited upon the latter. After the necessary supplv of ink has been deposited upon the in pad, the can is restored to its normal position, and the cover cap C a plied thereto, preventing deterioration o the ink in the mat 6 and the pad 2, and egress of the ink, as hereafter described, and preservingit in condition for subsequent applications to the ink pad.

llit will be obvious that the passage of the instrument 4 through the pad 2 will not cut the strands or fibres of the latter, but will merely push them aside, and that the said strands or fibres are of suiicient flexibility to tend to resume their normal position, and no hole is left in said ad, permitting a free flow of ink. The pa 2 and the rojecting mat 6 become fully saturated witli ink and when the can is inverted and the cap B passed over the ink pad, the ink is instantly transferred to the latter, as will be understood.

It is also to be noted that the aperture in the disk 3, formed by the insertion of the implement 4, materially aects the supply of ink to the pad 2. The aperture in the cap 1 may be of sucli diameter as to indicate the diameter of the desired aperture in the disk 3, which latter aperture obviously governs the amount of ink supplied to the pad 2. Manifestly by the use of a tapering instrument 4, the aperture in the disk 3 may be made' smaller than the aperture in the cap 1, or may be of the same diameter, as desired.

Various inks, land especially inks intended for application'to inking pads, contain a substantial quantity of glycerine, or other creeping fluid, as an ingredient. It is Well known that lead is one of, if not the only metal which successfully withstands the creeping action of glycerine, and that the latter not only cannot creep through the lead, but cannot creep upon or over it. Consequently, to prevent creepage of the ink through the aperture b and .down lbetween the caps B and C, the latter cap is also provided with the neemt@ pad C andi the leaden disk 3, as before stated.

After ink has been used upon the ad, the ca C is screwed downI Very `tiglitly upon t e cap B, causing the lead disk 3', in the cap C, to be very firmly pressed by the resilient pad C', upon the top 1 of the cap B. The central portion of the lead disk 3', in the cap C, may be slightly raised from the top l, even under this pressure, because of the protruding dauber 6, but the resiliency of the pad C will cause the disk 3',

around the dauber 6, to engage thejtop v1v at all points around the dauber, as shown in Fig. 7. Consequently, when the ink` creeps up from the pad 2, in the cap B, and past the dauber 6, it nevertheless can-- not pass the lead disk 3 in the cap C, and

cannot, therefore, pass between the threaded 'i portions of the caps B andv C and to the atmosphere. It is also to be noted that the resiliency of the pad C maintains a constant pressure upon the disk 3, holdin it in contact With the top 1 of the cap The invention is not limited to a pad 2 of any particular material, so long as such material possesses the requisite absorption and expansion properties, and suiiicient durability so that the projecting mat 6 will not be worn away until the contents of the can A have been consumed. Nor is the invention limited to a disk 3 of any articular material, so long as such materia is easily puncturable, impervious to the destructive action of ink, and adapted to prevent the creeping action of any ingredient contained in the ink.

Modifications of the herein-described structure may be suggested to those skilled in the art, but the invention covers all embodiments falling fairly within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim- 1. A can lclosure comprising a cap fitted over the mouth of the can, an absorbent pad contained in said cap and integrally provided with a portion extending through an aperture in the latter, and means below said pad limiting the flow, to the latter, of liquid contained in the can, substantially as described.

2. A can closure comprising a cap fitted over the mouth of the can, an absorbent pad contained in said cap and integrall provided With a portion extending throng an aperture in the latter, and means below said pad limiting the flow, to the latter,.

an aperture in said cap, and a cover member adapted to be positioned over said cap, substantially as described.

4. A can closure comprising a cap fitted over the mouth of the can and an absorbent pad contained in said cap and integral] provided with a. portion extending throug an'aperture in said cap, means below said ad limiting the flow, to the latter, of iquid contained in said can and a cover member adapted to be positioned over said cap, substantially as described.

5. In combination with a can for containing a creeping fluid, a closure therefor comprising an apertured cap fitted over the mouth of the can, an absorbent pad in said cap, subject to saturation by the uid, and a cover cap fitted over said closure cap and provided on its bottom surface with a member inherently adapted to resist the creeping action of said fluid, substantially as described.

6. In combination with a can for containing a creeping fluid, a closure therefor comprising an apertured cap fitted over the mouth of the can, an absorbent pad in said cap, subject to saturation by the uid,

a cover cap fitted over said closure cap and provided on its bottom surface with a member inherently adapted to resist the creepin action of said fluid, and means for resi iently pressing said member against the to of said closure cap, substantially as descri ed.

7. In combination with a can for containing a creeping fluid, a closure therefor comprising an apertured cap fitted over the mouth of the can, an absorbent pad in said cap, subject to saturation by the fluid, a cover cap fitted over said closure cap and provided on its bottom surface with a member inherently adapted to resist the creeping action of said fluid, and means for resiliently pressing said member against the top of said closure cap, said means comprising a resilient element located between said member and the top of said cover cap and adapted to be compressed when the said caps are connected, substantially as described.

In` testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

RUFUs D. BALL. 

